Equestria: The darkest time
by Benkuson
Summary: For the second year in a row the harvest has failed and famine has broken out. Earthponies are being blamed and all ideas of friendship and love are being cast aside for the sake of mob justice. Applejack is forced to flee Ponyville together with Rarity - maybe some friendship still exists.
1. Chapter 1

The change was gradual. First people would frown upon the remarks made about earth ponies being lesser than pegasi and unicorns, but eventually the remarks grew into jokes that put a smirk on anyponies face. Anypony except the targets, of course.

After the crops failed last harvest and no improvement was being made on the current one, lots of ponies were displeased with how the earth ponies kept the land. Attempts to defend themselves were made by putting some blame on the pegasi for giving them too little rain when they asked for it, but nopony would listen. Everyponys minds were set: The earth ponies were to blame.

In the homes of the pegasi and the unicorns, kids were told that the scarce amount of food they got every night was noponys fault but the earth ponies. In the schools earth fillies were bullied more than ever for "lacking special abilities" and "causing the famine" which resulted in several ponies staying home from school - which several teachers even endorsed for the sake of the earth fillies safety.

It wasn't long until a political party formed. They spread flyers in the streets of every town with their propaganda, urging to take the responsibilities from the earth ponies and give them to more qualified ponies.

Princess Celestia wouldn't hear off the accusations being made against the earth ponies. She decreed that they had made every effort they could have made to secure the harvest but because of a heavily increased demand for food due to a nearly explosive population growth the lands had been drained of minerals. The opposition chose to interpret this undeniably true statement as saying that Equestria needed to decrease the population - and how better to do so than ridding themselves of the most detestable ponies still walking the lands?

Applejack entered the kitchen with a lit candle held in one of her hooves. She sat down by the kitchen table and put her candle next to another one, the two candles being the only sources of illumination in all of the house.

Granny Smith sat in a rocking chair at the far end of the table with a knitted blanket over her lap, facing out the kitchen window, viewing the orchard with its many fruitless trees with a tired and hollow look on her old and weary face. Further beyond the trees was the beginning of the path leading from the road and up to their home. Old Granny held watch.  
With her head barely reaching up to rest on the table, Applebloom sat struggling against her heavy eyelids.

Applejack ruffled Appleblooms mane like the loving sister she was and said with a warm smile:

"You can go hit the sack. We'll be talkin' grown up stuff now."

"I don't wanna" the little filly rebutted. "I want Big Mac to come home first".

Applejack let her hoof slide down to her sisters shoulders and softly started rocking her where she sat. She sang, harmonically:

"Sweet little sister, don't say a word  
You've been up all day and you've played with the heard  
Tomorrow's a new day with laughter and song  
Close your eyes now and it will not be long  
'till yer up running, playin' push-n-shove  
Close yer eyes now and sleep my love..."

Appleblooms head laid fully resting on the table, eyes closed and her tiny body heaving slowly up and down in the poorly lit room. She slept.  
Applejack breathed the silence for a moment. She could hear a clock upstairs ticking solemnly in the darkness.

Granny spoke, barely breaking the silence.

"We must start thinkin' about Big Mac not commin' home no more."

"Yeah" Applejack sighed and peered the same direction as her granny, through the window and down to the empty dark path by the road.

"You can't be stayin' here much longer, child. I heard that they made it into Canterlot last evenin' and I'm not so sure they'll be stoppin' to spend the night. They could be here with the rising sun for all we know."

"Yeah" Applejack repeated joylessly.

Big Macintosh had been missing since morning. He had gone into Ponyville to buy fertilizers for the farm and was expected back well before lunchtime. The sun had now set and they all feared the worse. Although the Equetists (as the party members called themselves) hadn't arrived in Ponyville yet, there had been groups of supporters in Ponyville for several days now that didn't hesitate to display their opinions on earth ponies openly.

"I'll have the cart packed and ready by mornin'. We can make our way down to cousin Braeburn in Appleloosa. We'll be safe there for sure" Applejack declared after a minute of thought.

"The famine's far worse down there, sweetie. Uncle Strudel sent a letter saying so just last week."

"But it sure is easier fighting a rumblin' tummy than a bunch of no-good, pitchfork yielding lunatics!"

"Now, now. Appleloosa has got their share of pitchforkers too. Not as many, I reckon, but they're everywhere these days. Movin' into a cave with a cart full of canned foods would be the safest bet, though there are no caves to go to that I know of and no food to boot."  
"What are you sayin' grandma?"

"I'm sayin'" the elderly pony started, still gazing at the path outside, "that yur're in for some rough time ahead, is what I'm sayin'. You better toughen up, sweetie. You might be strong and know who yur friends are, but in these here times it's just as important to know who yur enemies are, too."

Applejack closed her eyes and tried to wrap her mind around what her grandma was getting at. She never though she would have actual enemies, ponies that wanted her ill, but it would be foolish to trust just about anypony anymore like she could have done before all of this started. She knew that she needed to be on her guard.

Suddenly a knock came from the front door. The sound echoed in the house and Applebloom awoke.

"Is that big brother?" the little filly yawned and got out of her seat. Applejack hushed her sister to be quiet as she snuck into the hallway and peaked through a window towards the porch. She didn't bring a candle.  
It wasn't Big Macintosh - she couldn't see much in the dark, but she could see a white flank.  
"Applejack? Please, do tell me you are home - it is a grossly pressing matter!" a female voice cried.

Applejack recognized the voice of her friend Rarity. She rushed to the door, cracked it open just enough to let her friend in but she remained on the porch.

Rarity looked grave and serious. Her mane wasn't as perfectly in order as it usually was.  
"Applejack, I bring news. Please don't be distraught by it, I beg of you!"

The shadows next to Rarity shifted and Applejack could see someone slowly emerging from the deepest darkness, covered in a dark and ill-fitting piece of fabric. The figure raised his head and Applejack was met with the saddest eyes she had ever seen on her brother. She was confused and turned to Rarity for an explanation.

"What is it? Where have you been?"

Rarity took a deep breath and carefully chose her words.

"I was in my workshop when I heard a calamity outside. I went to look and saw a group of ponies harassing some young earthfilly right in the middle of the street! I can't tell what they wanted with her but thankfully your brother courageously made an entrance to the scene. The aggressors backed off when he stood up against them. He told the brutes the simple truth about how you earthponies wanted nothing but the very best for everypony and that you couldn't help how the harvest had gone. The earthfilly escaped unharmed, all thanks to your brothers grand succor. However, the scoundrels soon realized that your brother was standing on his own - nopony dared to back him up at that point. A fight broke out. Macintosh fought gallantly but in the end he was pinned down on his back."

"Oh, gosh! Big brother, are you alright?" Applejack gasped.

Macintosh opened his mouth to speak but seemed to suddenly have remembered something and instead lowered his head, not saying a word.

"That's the thing" Rarity continued. "The gang said that they wouldn't hurt him since he had a debt to pay off, but they would stop him from spewing his lies about the earth ponies. They... They... Oh, I can't bring myself to say it. It was heartbreaking to see! Such cruelty and viciousness!"

Macintosh stepped closer to his sister and revealed his throat. Even in just the moonlight, it was plain to see that his throat was red, redder than the rest of him, and a hoof-print was embedded in his skin. He lowered his head again without looking Applejack in the eye.  
"Shortly after the... the deed, the filly he had defended came back with a throng of other ponies. They threw things, yelled and bellowed at the monsters. They fled like the cowards they were and left Macintosh laying in the dirt. Somepony helped me carry him to a doctor, the poor fellow could barely breathe, and I stayed with him until the doctor said the swelling had gone down enough to call his condition stable. However, his throat was in an awful condition and the doctor said it was improbably that he would ever speak again. I'm sorry Applejack. I truly am sorry about all this."

"Don't be sorry Rarity. You did everythin' you could've done" Applejack said consolingly as she went to hug her brother and lead the party indoors.

Applebloom came bouncing into the hallway and clinged to her brothers leg with a big smile.

"Big Mac! Where've you been? I've been staying up way past bedtime for you!"

Applebloom looking up into her brothers face but the look she got in return from him made her smile vanish and filled her with uncertainty.

"Wha-... What's wrong brother?"

"Big Mac's home now. Off to bed" Applejack ordered more sternly than she would have liked to.

Applebloom lingered for a moment, trying to figure out what was going on, but the looks on everyponies faces made her understand that things were bound to get more grown up and serious than she wanted to be a part of.

They gathered in the kitchen. Granny Smith had extinguished the candles right after Applejack left the room and now lit a match to bring back the lights.

"So we're all gathered now" granny said. "Let's start making some plans."


	2. Chapter 2

The sun had not risen and the air was cold and damp. Even the birds were still asleep when the ponies began their journey. A soft mist covered the fields. The wheels on the cart crunched the gravel on the path.

Applejack pressed on down the road. She had understood what her grandmother meant when she said she would stay to look after the farm. Applejack might be of young age but she wasn't a young filly anymore. She knew that this was a final goodbye. She saw it in Macintosh's eyes that he, too, understood and even Rarity seemed to be concerned.

Applebloom didn't seem to understand the gravity of the situation. She only complained that she couldn't leave a proper message to the Cutie Mark Crusaders as to how they would keep in touch from now on. Naturally she was frustrated.

Rarity had insisted on going with them, even if she wasn't being persecuted she didn't want to leave her friends. Despite Applejack urging her to stay and live a peaceful life away from the misery that surely would befall the earth ponies, Rarity threw a pair of bags over her back and got ready to hit the dusty trail with her friend.

None of the ponies had managed to make contact with Twilight, Rainbowdash, Fluttershy or Pinkie Pie. For all they knew Pinkie Pie had already gotten herself in trouble with the terrible mobs of the Equetists, with her loud mouth and all. There wasn't much to worry about the other three ponies though, all of them being pegasi or unicorns. Applejack and Rarity agreed that Twilight was too smart to cause a ruckus, Rainbowdash was too fast to ever get caught and Fluttershy was already secure in her cottage outside of Ponyville. As for Pinkie, they could only hope she was fine. Though it hurt inside to say it, Applejack couldn't risk going into Ponyville to look for her friend - it was too late for that now.

They wandered down the road in a line, away from the orchard with Applejack leading the way south. Rarity walked last in the line to look after Applebloom, who walked behind Big Macintosh and the cart. Appleloosa and the safety of cousin Braeburn was about three full days of hiking down the road past Ghastly Gorge and Froggy Bottom Bogg. The train would've been a lot faster but less safe - being the subject of massive loathing while being in a confined space filled with strangers didn't ring well in the ears of any of the ponies. The road, though long and sometimes gruesome, was the safest bet.

Applejack adjusted the bags on her sides. The grip of the bowie knife she had hidden between her flank and one of the bags chafed slightly. She thought about how she could best pad her flank to prevent any further discomfort but they had packed lightly and didn't have much material fit for such usage. Everyponies' bags had a first aid kit packed but she didn't plan to use hers this soon.

After a few hours the sun had finely risen. The mist still lingered but it was now possible to see ahead. By the sides of the road the grass grew tall and the dew made the fields shimmer with light from the sun.

Up until now Applebloom had appeared sleepy but seemed to have gotten wide awake with the rays of sunlight hitting her eyes. She scurried to Applejack's side with a smile on her face.

"Hey, sis! Where are we all goin'?" she asked bustling with excitement. The young filly had never gone wandering like this before.

"We're goin' to see cousin Braeburn. Down in Appleloosa."

"Is it because they have apple pies?"

"We hope they have 'em, but we'll be comin' uninvited so they might not have had the time to bake. Maybe you could help 'em out in the kitchen when we get there?"

Applejack put on a cheerful face but her insides were about to tear themselves up with uncertainty and anxiety. She didn't want to ruin her sister's good spirits; though she figured they would be ruined anyway if Appleloosa was in the awful state her grandmother had said. All she could do for now was pretend to have everything under control and maintain her composure.

Being the hardworking pony she was she had often times put on a strong face for others even when she felt weak and miserable. Even at her limit she refused to let anyone know that her spirit could break - she wanted to be the rock that everybody could cling onto, even if she herself never had such a rock. It was her image and she would keep true to it until the very end.

Even with her hardy mindset, Applejack wanted some peace and quiet to sort her thoughts out. It was a lot to deal with. Leaving home, Macintosh becoming a mute, the world changing... When Rarity hurried up to her side she unwillingly tried to close herself off to avoid unproductive small-talk but the fashionista had no such thing in mind.

"Applejack, someponies are approaching quickly from behind us" she said with great urgency.

Applejack lifted her head high and had a listen. She immediately heard hooves stomping on the road behind them, just out of view, and made a quick call.

"Everypony in the ditch!"

Applebloom leapt without a problem into the ditch by the road - luckily there was no water in it. Rarity and Applejack both had to help Macintosh with the cart to get him off the road. They grabbed a nearby branch and some tall grass in an attempt to make some makeshift camouflage for the cart. It wasn't a good camouflage but considering the time they put into it, it was decent.

The ponies pressed their heads to the ground, the rich smell of the soil filling their nostrils and the weeds tickling their faces. The dew dampened their coats. The strangers were fast approaching and none of the ponies dared to take a breath.

Applejack couldn't risk lifting her head the slightest to catch a glimpse of whoever it was galloping on the road, but from the heaviness of the hooves and the deep grunting she understood that they were all male and carried or pulled a load of some sort. She could just barely make out a muffled clattering of metal coming from the riders.

One of the riders called commands in a deep and bellowing voice that roared over all other noises.

"Beyond the bend ahead is a fork in the road! Charlie will set up the check-point just before it! I will carry on with Bravo eastward to the mountain pass! Alfa will ride southward and control the bridges! All shall send reports back to me post haste!"

The other riders yelled 'Roger!' in unison. Applejack estimated from the voices that they were about ten ponies including the commander.

After the riders had passed the ponies they waited a minute before they rose from their cover. Applejack could hear a group of ponies working further down the road - hammering, loud talking and things being pounded into the ground. They had come to a dead end.

Applejack led her group out of the ditch and onto the tall grass field. The ground was groovy but the road wasn't safe to wander anymore, so they all grabbed a hold of the cart and snuck the best they could through the grass and into the shadows of the trees.

"From the looks of this, we need to find ourselves some other roads to travel" Applejack declared as they were catching their breath amongst the bushes and weeds and having a sip of water from their canteens. "Now, I don't know much about the forest paths around Ponyville and all, since I usually pull a cart and need to stick to them proper roads to not bust the wheels. But I reckon our friend Fluttershy might know her way around the trees and bushes. I say we go to her and ask for help."

"But Applejack, we will be attracting unwanted attention to the poor little thing if we simply wander to her cottage! Do we really wish to risk getting her into this mess?" Rarity objected.

"Listen, we don't have much of a choice here. Either we risk dragging Fluttershy into this nasty business or we'll simply wander around in blindness and risk going head-to-head with them' troopers. I say by wandering around all lost and whatnot we never know where we wind up or who we bump into - with Fluttershy we have a good chance of getting ourselves a clear path to safety."

None of the ponies could object to Applejack's reasoning.

Knowing the general direction of Fluttershy's cottage they set off, minding their steps and not letting the cart make too much noise as it rolled over thick roots and rocks. Since the Equetists had just arrived in Ponyville they were occupied with building blockades on the main roads, it was unlikely that they would bother with the scarcely used shortcuts going around the town just yet.

A few hours after midday they finely made it to the cottage. Nopony was within sight, so Rarity got out of the cover of the wild, brushed the leaves off of her and knocked on the door.

No answer.

Rarity knocked harder. When this didn't produce anything she backed up to better view the second floor. The windows were all shut and the rooms all dark.

Rarity walked back to her friends, defeated, when the door cracked open. A yellow hoof waved them in. Fluttershy pleaded: "Hurry!"

Applejack unhinged the cart from her brother and got both her siblings out of the bushes and bolting to the open door. Applejack followed right after she kicked the cart into some foliage and tossed a thick branch over it.

Once everypony was in Fluttershy closed the door quietly but determined. The inside of the cottage was dim, nothing but a candle to light up the room. Just like at Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack thought.

Despite the lack of proper lighting it was plain to see that the cottage had been searched: Books lay open on the floor, cabinets were wide open, furniture moved into impractical locations and the rug was carelessly thrown into a corner by the fireplace.

Applejack tried to take it all in and make some kind of theory as to what had been going on. She turned to Fluttershy and only now could she see the harrowed and tired look in Fluttershy's otherwise sweet and well-groomed face.

Rarity approached the yellow pony.

"Fluttershy, deary, would you tell us what happened here? We were sure you would be safe from all of the ghastly business happening with your remote abode and such. Whatever could the horrid Equetists want from you?"

Fluttershy didn't answer at first; she only suffocated a moan of anguish and sorrow and went to move the sofa so she could have a sit. She then told the story of the morning that had just passed while facing the floorboards but not her friends. Her voice was hoarse, the sorrow still stuck in her throat.


	3. Chapter 3

"I started my morning just as any other, by feeding the early-bird animals. I noticed one of the chickens in the coop acting strangely, then another one - I was afraid they had some disease spreading amongst them. So I went into the Forbidden Forrest to look for a Silvery Dew-bloomer to calm them down, it was the only herb I could think of to help the poor chickens and their nervous behavior, but before I found the herb I heard a loud noise from the pens. I could hear all my animal friends shrieking in fear, much like when they spot a predator circling the area, but this was louder. They weren't scared - they were absolutely terrified! I hurried back and..."

Fluttershy's voice broke into a cry. Rarity threw the bags off of her and rushed to hold her friend and wipe the tears away, but there were no tears – only traces of rills having run down her cheeks.

"... I hurried back but I was too afraid to do anything! There were ponies in uniforms everywhere! I hid behind a tree… They were rounding all of my animals up, putting them in wagons and dragging them away! I overheard some of the ponies saying something about the famine. At first I didn't understand, how could my animal friends help them with the famine? But then I... I... They wouldn't do something like that, right? Nopony would ever do something like that, _right_? We're all herbivores, _right_?!"

Rarity pressed her hysteric friend's head against her body and stroked her mane in an attempt to console her. Fluttershy didn't cry as much as wheeze in a spasmodic manner.

Macintosh took his little sister upstairs, leaving the female ponies to sort things out. The stairs squeaked as they went up.

Rarity was confused.

"Why on earth would the Equetists take away the animals? What possible use could they serve those- those MANGY beasts claiming to be ponies?"

"I reckon" Applejack said, "that they'll be putting the stronger of the animals to work the fields and such. As for the critters... I'm not so sure. I do know that some ponies, ehm... 'change their diet' in emergencies but we haven't gone that far, have we? We're short on food but I ain't heard of anypony dyin' of starvation just yet."

Fluttershy was now so quiet Rarity wondered if she might've fallen asleep.

"What do we do now?"

Applejack looked at her friend. She wished there was an easy answer to give her.

"I think the best would be for us all to hold up for a minute. If we could get some info from the town, that would be like biscuits and jelly. - Fluttershy, d'you think there is some way for us to make contact with someone in town, without getting ourselves into a pickle?"

Fluttershy was silent - she truly was asleep. Her face was still grinning with worry and she seemed on edge, but her eyes were shut close and her body heaved regularly with deep breaths.

"Fine then - I'll just see what supplies we've got and try to make sum' soup for us all. You stay with her, Rare."

Applejack went into the somewhat tiny kitchen to prepare the soup. She had just started boiling water and opened a few precious cans of preserved foods she had brought from home, when a series of sudden knocks came from the front door. She snuck past the still sleeping Fluttershy and assumed a defensive stance by the door. She was still carrying her bags and she could easily draw her bowie knife if she had to.

The knocking started again. They came in non-rhythmic bursts with pauses between them.

"Hey, sis!" Applebloom called from the top of the stairs in a hushed voice. "It's Twilight! We can see her from the bedroom window!"

"Is she with someone?"

"Nu-uh, she's all by 'er self."

Applejack cautiously opened the door and verified that it was indeed Twilight, alone. She let her in and locked the door behind her.

"Applejack? Rarity? When did you get here?" Twilight wondered as she looked around in the room.

"We came just a few minutes ago. Fluttershy's sleepin' and my siblins' upstairs. Say, what was with the knocking you just did?" Applejack asked.

"Oh, that? It was Morse code! I was here a couple of days ago to drop off a book about Morse code to Fluttershy. She said she wanted some way to communicate with her pet rabbit, Angel, when he wasn't in the house. Later, I imagined that the Equetists might get here someday soon, so I told her to use a coded password for safety. If the password is correctly given at the door it is safe to assume it is a friend. If not given, she has to be extra cautious."

"A password you say... Why ain't we heard of it yet?"

"I didn't think it would actually come to this. Last time I heard from princess Celestia everything was okay, but that was over a week ago. When I heard that the Equetists had come to Ponyville this morning I immediately rushed to my friends to warn and inform them how we best would keep safe and out of all of this. Neither Pinkie, Rarity or Rainbowdash were at their homes, so I went to your orchard – but right before I got to your house I ran into a bunch of troopers heading towards Ponyville" Twilight said.

This got Applejack a little confused.

"Wait… The Equetists just came to Ponyville. We saw 'em running down that road to build 'emselves a blockade further up the bend. But why would they be headin' back to town so soon?" Applejack wondered.

"Applejack… These troops hadn't been building any blockades. They had gone to Sweet Apple Acres - they had Granny Smith."

This came as no surprise to Applejack. Granny Smith stayed knowing very well that this might happen, Applejack knew it too. She just hoped it would have happened further into the future and not on the very first day.

"D'you know where they took her? What they did to her?"

"I followed them. Apart from putting a leash on her they treated her well. They've built a makeshift prison camp close to the Ponyville center where they keep all the ponies they've captured. It's heavily guarded. I… I think I saw Pinkie in there, as well."

"Oh, no…" Rarity sighed mournfully from the sofa.

Applejack went towards the kitchen again. She felt as if she had been knocked over the head with a wooden beam but she was determined to keep herself together. Falling apart wouldn't bring anything good - not now, not ever. She needed to keep being strong. The sadness was sour and hard to swallow, but what else was there to do?

"Why don'tcha have a seat? I'm makin' some soup. D'you wanna try it?" Applejack asked her newly arrived friend before she went back to the stove.

Twilight sat down on the vacant side of Fluttershy and gave Applejack a silent nod. Twilight saw that Fluttershy had been grieving and decided to not risk waking her up by asking Rarity questions. She simply put her hoof on one of Fluttershy's and watched her peacefully sleep while the sound of boiling water from the kitchen mixed with the soft sound of three ponies quietly breathing.

It warmed Applejack's heart to see her friends taking care of each other. She wondered if they would do the same things to her if she got into a similar situation.

Rarity whispered to her purple-coated friend:

"We need to go into town. Will you help us?"

Twilight instinctively answered "Yes".

Quiet as they were, Applejack had still heard them over the sound of her own cooking. Something twisted in her gut. She wasn't prepared to go into town, but she wouldn't let her friends go there without her. It was dangerous - and Applejack felt herself fast approaching her limit.


End file.
